OS ALSO-RANS
5/17/1999
After Windows 98, Mac OS and Linux, what's left your Macintosh or
Intel PC? Lots.
JULIO OJEDA-ZAPATA STAFF WRITER
What pops into your head when you hear the phrase "computer operating
system"?
Perhaps Windows 98 or the Mac OS come to mind. Or maybe you think of
Linux, the upstart OS that has dented the dominant Windows franchise.
"What else is there?" you may wonder.
Well, hold onto your computer chairs, because you're about to take a
breakneck tour of alternative operating systems.
Some, like BeOS and FreeDOS, are aimed at desktop computers. Others,
such as Mac OS X Server and the BSDs, mainly run corporate and
Internet-industry servers but see some use in the home.
On your tour, you'll get a taste for the OS's whiz-bang capabilities
and meet a few fascinating folks. And who knows? You may soon disavow
any association with Bill Gates or Linus Torvalds as you become a
Be-liever or a BSD-Daemon worshiper.
>> BeOS
Peter Schultz was new to computers in 1995 when he bought a PC with
Windows 95. Chaos ensued.
"I was doing things to push (the system)...and after awhile it got so
unstable that I had to completely reinstall everything," says Schultz,
who then attended Bemidji State University.
Dismayed by Windows' less-than-bulletproof constitution, he switched
to Linux. But "that was so difficult," he recalls.
Then Schultz bought a BeBox, a dual-processor computer that ran an OS
dubbed BeOS. The machine "had two pillars with LED arrays (that served
as) tachometers for the processors," he says. "Any computer that
cool-looking had to be good."
Schultz, a North Dakota State University computer-science student, is
now a top evangelist for BeOS. The OS provides "work station-like
performance on PC-like machines," he crows.
BeOS harnesses computer processors more efficiently than other OSs, he
explains. Operations are broken down into hundreds of small tasks, all
grabbing bits of processor power so that overall performance isn't
hampered.
"The whole thing screams cool," says David Duccini, head of the Twin
Cities' BeOS users' group, which has more than a dozen registered
members.
# The ideal user. BeOS is an easy-to-use desktop OS, albeit one for
advanced users. It works best on machines with two or more
processors. Schultz uses it on a dual-chip PC but says single-chip
machines will also see a performance boost. Many ordinary PCs and
Power Macintosh machines are BeOS-compatible.
# How do I get started? Unlike Linux, the $80 BeOS is easy to
install. "If your machine is BeOS-compatible, this will only take
about 15 minutes," Schultz says. You don't have to abandon Windows
98 or the Mac OS, either, because BeOS uses its own hard-drive
partition.
# What is it good for? Though BeOS software is relatively scarce
compared to Windows and MacOS offerings, you'll find the essentials
at www.bedepot.com and from other sources. More software is
coming. Definitely consider BeOS if you dabble in video editing or
other high-end multimedia work, says Schultz, who is playing with a
test version of a feature-rich Adamation video-editing package.
# Hey, I want a BeBox! Sorry, Silicon Valley-based Be Inc. got out of
the hardware business in 1997 and went software-only. But you can
see a BeBox here: www.be.com/products/bebox/dual603ds.html
For more info: Try www.be.com for official information and Schultz's
www.beforever.com for the unofficial skinny.
>> OpenBSD and FreeBSD
Al Iverson's Web home page doesn't reside on an ISP's fancy
server. Instead, he hosts the site himself on the humblest of machines
-- a decade-old Macintosh SE/30.
OpenBSD makes this possible, the Minneapolis man says. The OS "works
very well on obsolete hardware. I'm using it to run Apache, the most
popular Web-server software in the world."
Don't feel bad if you've never heard of OpenBSD because neither have
most mortals. But the OS, along with its cousin FreeBSD, have growing
importance in the Internet Age.
Many top Internet providers use BSDs to run their servers. Vector
Internet Services, a top Twin Cities ISP, uses FreeBSD on some of its
systems. So does US West.net. The gofast.net ISP in downtown St. Paul
runs almost entirely off OpenBSD.
If you use the Yahoo! Web portal -- who doesn't? -- you're connecting
to a FreeBSD-powered service.
Have you seen the hit sci-fi movie "The Matrix?" The eye-popping
special effects in that flick largely emerged from FreeBSD-powered
machines.
But you don't need to be a Hollywood or Internet-industry big-shot to
use a BSD. Christopher Hertel of St. Paul runs OpenBSD on two used PCs
he bought for $25 apiece and linked with other computers in his home
to create a personal network.
# The ideal user. The BSDs, like Linux, aren't for newbies. It helps
to understand UNIX, the operating system used by university
researchers and other propeller-heads. In fact, the BSDs are
descendents of the Berkeley Software Distribution, a version of UNIX
developed at the University of California at Berkeley.
# What are they good for? Because the BSDs are better suited for
running network servers than desktop computers, relatively few
consumer-style applications are available. Minneapolis computer
consultant Matthew Dixon develops software on a FreeBSD-powered PC
but switches to his Power Macintosh and Word 98 for word processing.
But, as Hertel and Iverson have demonstrated, the BSDs can empower
computer hobbyists with home-networking and Web-publishing
aspirations.
Iverson runs an OpenBSD-powered PC that hosts the Web sites of
friends, co-workers and his favorite nightclub, the Artists' Quarter
in downtown St. Paul. He jokes that he built the Pentium box with
"spit and baling wire," but says OpenBSD provides remarkable
reliability for the members of his Radparker.com mini-ISP.
# How do I get started? Because the BSDs are free, you'll only pay a
small fee for a CD-ROM.
Before selecting a BSD, consider your hardware. FreeBSD is a good
choice if you use an Intel-based PC. OpenBSD runs on a wider variety
of machines, such as Macs and Amigas.
Are you concerned about security? You'll like OpenBSD. Because the
tight-knit group who oversee OpenBSD development are "a bunch of
paranoid people," says gofast.net co-founder Ralph Jenson, they are
extraordinarily diligent about finding and fixing security "holes."
# Who the heck is Daemon? Oh, he's the BSD mascot, a little demon with
a pitchfork. Linux's Tux the Penguin better watch out. To learn how
the BSD Daemon got his name, see:
www.freebsd.org/copyright/daemon.html
For more info: See www.openbsd.org for official OpenBSD updates. On
the FreeBSD side, see www.freebsd.org for general information and
http://advocacy.freenet.org for in-your-face advocacy.
>> FreeDOS
Jim Hall of St. Paul would seem to have the most thankless job in
operating-system development -- creating a successor to Microsoft's
old MS-DOS operating system.
The text-based OS once revolutionized PC use but has since been
absorbed into Windows 95 and Windows 98. Yet millions around the world
use old PCs that can't handle graphical user interfaces.
Enter the FreeDOS Project, a half-decade-old Hall initiative that now
comprises more than a dozen developers. Their goal: creating a free
MS-DOS replacement. FreeDOS is now available as test software and gets
kudos from around the globe.
A school in Russia runs FreeDOS on creaky 286 PCs, for instance. "More
kids now have access to computers (there)," says Hall, who works as a
network-server support manager at the University of Minnesota. "That's
neat to see."
# The ideal user. If you need to run MS-DOS programs on ancient
hardware, give FreeDOS a look. It's free. The alternative are
scrounging for old MS-DOS disks -- Microsoft longer sells the OS as
a separate product -- or paying $40 for Caldera's DR-DOS.
# Does it work just like MS-DOS? Pretty much. FreeDOS is still "beta"
(test) software, so it isn't perfect. It won't run every single DOS
program under the sun, but that's the goal.
# What is it good for? FreeDOS has been harnessed in interesting
ways. Some have played "Doom" using the OS. Many Linux users rely on
FreeDOS to run MS-DOS programs with DOSEmu (DOS emulation) software.
"My Pentium 200 with Windows 98 crashed...and I needed to get a report
out," one user wrote in an e-mail. "I turned to my FreeDOS
machine. That's right, FreeDOS running PC-Write and (a)
spreadsheet. Not only did I get the report out fine but (FreeDOS) has
been more reliable in its way than Windows 98."
# Will Microsoft crush FreeDOS? Not likely. Hall says he has heard
nothing from the folks in Redmond, Wash., in recent years. FreeDOS
doesn't use proprietary Microsoft code, in any case.
For more info: See www.freedos.org for updates and
www.isd.net/jhall1/freedos/ for Hall's take.
>> Mac OS X Server
Sitting in his office on the outskirts of Sioux City, Iowa, Doug
Shimonek has a soothing view of swaying cornstalks and a farmer's
lake.
His blood pressure began to rise, nevertheless, when he recently tried
to set up a Linux-based server. "I could never get it to work," says
Shimonek of the user-unfriendly OS. "It was an ugly experience."
Apple Computer's new server software for Macintosh networks, Mac OS X
Server, brought his stress level back down.
"I turned it on and used a software assistant for two or three minutes
to set up my network," says Shimonek, a software developer for a San
Diego-based company. "And I was done."
# The ideal user. As its name implies, Mac OS X Server is intended
mainly for Mac-network administrators. It musn't be confused with
Apple's upcoming Mac OS X for desktop Macs, which will replace the
current Mac OS 8.6.
# So, why should I care? Well, you may want to set up your own Mac
network. Don't laugh. Ordinary Mac-heads have created LocalTalk
networks for years. Though Mac OS X Server isn't a consumer product,
it may inspire geeky Macolytes to set up personal networks (assuming
they can swing $500 for the software).
Think about it -- a home network with a blue-and-white Power Macintosh
G3 as a server and fruit-colored iMacs for terminals. Your kids will
never leave the house again.
# What else is it good for? You can easily publish your Web sites, for
starters. Mac OS X Server runs Apache, the leading Web-server
software. To activate Apache, "I clicked a button that says 'on,' "
Shimonek says. "You wouldn't get it that easy anywhere else."
Apple has added cutting-edge features such as NetBoot, which turns
iMacs and current-model G3s into zippy network terminals. Users are
able to run programs off the server at hard-drive speeds, which saves
administrators the aggravation of loading the software on every
terminal.
Joe Schnide, a Macintosh expert who works at the University of
Minnesota's medical school, calls Mac OS X Server "a modern OS
(incorporating) the power of UNIX with the beginnings of a Mac
GUI...Considering its (tender) age, it looks good."
For more info: See www.apple.com/macosx/server/ for product background
and www.info.apple.com/support/macosxserver/ for technical support.
(c) 1999 PioneerPlanet / St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press
- All Rights Reserved
>> Reprinted from PioneerPlanet / St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press